The Good Samaritan, Part 20
And ſet him on his owne Beaſt. Text. ]
Doct. God hath given the Creatures to bee ſerviceable unto us; and that not onelyonly for our neceſſity, but alſo for our utility and delight; as the Oxe to labour for us, the Horſe to beare our burthens and carry us, &c.
Vſe This we ſhould take ſpeciall notice of, as David did, Pſal, 8. and in a ſpeciall manner take great heed leaſt we be unthankefull unto him who deales thus bountifully with us: Giving us all things richly to enjoy; or cruell and unjuſt to them, we ſhew our ſelves unthankfull unto him, while (as Iehu did the Meſſengers ſent unto him) we put the Creatures behind us and inforce them to fight againſt God in the ſervice of the enemy Hoſ. 2.8. This is a provoking ſin and cauſeth God in wrath to deprive us of theſe bleſſings, which we ſo abuſe, Hoſ. 2.9.
We deale too hardly with the Creatures when we overburthen them, and oppreſſe them, either with load too great, or journies too long, or pace too ſwift, or ſtripes too many, or meat too little; uſing them as cruelly and hardly (that work for us, travell with us, beare and carry thoſe loads, that otherwiſe muſt lie upon our ſhoulders;) as if they every way were noiſome and hurtfull unto us: Arighteous man (ſaith Salomon) …oſcit animam jumentiſui, knoweth the ſoule of his beaſt: knoweth what he ſtands in need of, and what in his need hee deſireth, and is ready to afford it him; but the tender mercies of the wicked are ſaid to be cruell in this reſpect, Prov. 12.10.
Should God open the mouth of the creature, as ſometimes he did the mouth of Balaams Aſſe, it would complaine of man as that Aſſe did,Numb. 22.20. Rom. 8. what have I done unto thee that thou thus uſeſt me? How ever God heares the groaning of the creature in its kind, and will not indure that they ſhould be abuſed. Let us therefore with the good man,Gen. 24.32. be mercifull to a beaſt. And with Abrahams ſervant (for which hee is remembred in holy Scripture) have a great care of our Cattle that are ſerviceable unto us: It is juſt with God that the creature ſhould riſe up againſt us to hurt us and deſtroy us, as 2 Sam. 18.9. 2 Kings. 9.36. Prov. 30.17. while we abuſe them, and riſe up in rebellion againſt God in the ſinful abuſe of them.
Secondly, it may not be paſſed over how that this Samaritan (as hee tooke before the oyle and wine which he had to ſerve him in his journey, and powred them into the wounds of his neighbour, ſo here) he lights from of his beaſt, and himſelfe walkes on foot whilſt his neighbour rides, Thence we learne,
Doct. To preferre our brothers neceſſity to our owne utility or conveniency. Luk. 3.11. & 12.33. Acts. 2.45 & 4.34. 2 Cor. 8.14.
Reaſon. For it is the greater good: Now however that rule alwayes holds not, Of two evils the leſſe is to be choſen; yet here it holdes, Of two goods chuſe the better and greater.
Vſe. This reprooves the Nabals and rich gluttons of our times, who are ſo farre from preferring the neceſſity of the needy before their owne profit, as that they will not part with their ſuperfluity to ſuccour their bretheren be they in never ſo great miſery, 1 Sam. 25.10, 11. Luk. 16.19, 20, 21. of this they wilfully being ignorant that the poore in their neceſſity are the Lords, and owners of rich mens goods, Prov. 3.27. and that the rich are but Stewards, and diſpenſers to them in that caſe.
Object. But doth not love (rightly ordered) begin at home? are we not to ſerve our ſelves before others?
Reſp. True, but as we are to put our ſelves in the firſt place, ſo our neighbours are to have the ſecond.
Omnis inordinata charitas incipit â ſeipſo, ſic etiam omnis regulata charitas terminatur in ſocio.For the farther and better clearing of this doubt, take notice that the things which men enjoy, are either neceſſary, profitable, ſufficient, or ſuperfluous. Thoſe are neceſſary, which ſerve for the maintenance of our lives: thoſe are profitable, which ſerve for our vocation, calling: Thoſe are ſufficient, which ſerve for our delectation, and thoſe are ſuperfluous, which tend to wantonneſſe and exceſſe. Now of our ſuperfluity we ſhould ſpare for our Brothers ſufficiency; of our ſufficiency ſomething we ſhould ſpare for our Neighbours utility to further him in his calling; out of thoſe things which ſerve for our utility we ought to ſpare to help our poore Bretheren in their Neceſſity and to preſerve their life: But of that which is abſolutely neceſſary for the maintenance of our lives and families we are not bound to give, except it be for the preſervation of our Prince and ſafety of the Common-wealth; for in that caſe the Publike is to be preferred before the Private, 2 Sam. 19 43.
Vſe 2 Wiſely then let us learn to judge of neceſſity, and the rather, becauſe it is uſually brought for a Plea, both in caſe of omiſſion of good duties and commiſſion of evill, when indeed there is no neceſſity at all why we ſhould be hindred in our duties, or put on upon any evill practiſe, what ever we pretend.
Myſt. As this Samaritane ſet the wounded man upon his owne beaſt (and therin preferred his neceſſity and profit before his own conveniency) So in the Myſtery,
Our bleſſed Saviour did preferre our good before his eaſe.
Doct. This is that S. Paul would teach us, 1 Cor. 11.1… having in the words immediately before declared, how that he pleaſed not himſelfe, adds by way of Exhortation, that we ſhould be followers of him therein as he was of Chriſt, implying that Chriſt did not pleaſe himſelf to do us good. And Rom. 15.3. he doth there expreſly, and in plain termes avouch it: For even Chriſt (ſaith he) foreign, non indulſit ſibi-ipſi, pleaſed not himſelfe; not as if he were diſpleaſed with himſelf for undertaking the work of our Redemption (that cannot be the meaning) ſeeing it was willingly undertaken, Luk 12.50. Iohn 10.17, 18. but the meaning is that in the work he ſought not his owne eaſe nor pleaſure, the content and ſatisfaction of the inclination of Nature (which abhorreth pain) but he preferred our good and the Salvation of our ſoules before his own Body, Name, Fame, Credit in this world, &c.
Vſe 1 Why then do we ſeek to pleaſe our ſelves before him?Mat. 4. & 16.22 Why do we prefer our eaſe before his honour? No impediments whatſoever could keep him from doing us good.
Satans temptations could not; Peters perſwaſion to favour himſelfe did not; reproaches, ſcorns, buffetings, death, torments, theſe nor any of theſe, nor all theſe could hinder him from effecting our Salvation: But he came leaping over theſe mountains, skipping over theſe hills, Cant. 2.8. But alas for us! We are ſo affected with our eaſe, that we can ſuffer nothing for his glory: Every Straw is a block in our way: Every Mole-hill is a Mountaine, which we cannot paſſe: The reproaches and ſcornes of the world are too grievous to be borne, but if the footmen thou haſt run withall weary thee, how wilt thou contend with horſes? If in the land of peace wherin thou truſtedſt thou art wearied thē how wilt thou do in the ſwelling of Iordan? Ier. 12.5. Is it like thou wilt part with thy liberty, life, all for his honour, as he parted with all for thine, when thy baſe heart and ſpirit is caſt down with the blaſt of tongues.
Vſe 2 As this ſhould inſtruct us in our obedience and thankfullneſſe towards him, ſo in our carriage toward our poore Brethren,Impoſuit inſuum juventum i e in corpus ſuum mēbra, nā que ſua nos ſecit, & particeps corperis ejus, & lex quidem non omnes ſuſcipiehat, Moabita inquit, & Ammonitae non intrahunt in Eccleſiā Dei, nunc vero in omni gente qui timet Dominum ab eo ſuſci pitur voles credere & pars eccleſiae fieri, propter hoc dicit quod duxit eum in ſtabu…um. Theoph in loc Iumenium ejus eſt caro qua ad nos venire dignatus eſt; Imponi jumento eſt in ipſam Inoarnationem, Aug de Queſt. Evā l. 2. Queſt 9 Aug. de vera Rel. c. 16. vino ra… foreign non foreign which is the very uſe the Apoſtle makes hereof, Rom. 15.1, 2. That every one of us doe pleaſe our Neighbour, not wholy nor only ſeeking our own with neglect of that which may be beneficiall to our brother; but with all (as Cajetan obſerves) apponit duo grana ſalis, he caſteth in two graines of ſalt to ſeaſon the duty of neighbour pleaſing: Firſt for matter, it muſt be foreign in that which is good or at leaſt not evill and referred to that which is good: Secondly, in regard of Ʋtility, foreign, to edification; for all things which are good and lawfull, edifie not, 1 Cor. 10 23. If time and place with other circumſtances be not obſerved it may rather tend to deſtruction then to edification, as Theophylact well obſerveth on the place: Theſe obſerved, ſeek to pleaſe both in our general & particular calling.
More particularly this ſetting the wounded man upon his own beaſt ſets forth (in the judgement of ſome Expoſitors) the high advancement of our Nature; Chriſt taking it into Union with his divine: he did not only aſſume our Nature and ſo came where we were, but in aſſuming it, he did nearly and indiſſolubely unite it to his divine Nature in the ſecond Perſon (to his ſecond Perſon immediately, but mediately to his Nature in that Perſon, whence it is called a Perſonall Ʋnion, becauſe it is made in the ſingularity of Perſon not in the unity of Nature) Ioh. 1.14. 1 Tim. 3.16. Col. 2.9. Heb. 2.16. Gal. 4.4. Rom. 9.5. Iſa. 9.
And this Ʋnion was neceſſary, that Chriſt might become a fit perſon to undergo the Office of a Mediator: For a Mediator muſt have ſome alliance to both parties which are to be reconciled that he might indifferently arbitrate, and mediate hence he tooke part with both natures and became Immanuell, Iſay. 7.14. Mat. 1.23. that he might indifferently partake with each Nature. This is a weighty point and full of myſteries, too deep indeed and weighty (it may be thought) to be laid upon ſo weak a foundation, as this is from the Parable, and therfore I paſſe with a word for Uſe.
Vſe 1 If ſerves for Inſtruction to us all, that we acknowledge our dignity herein, and beware leaſt we defile by a lew'd converſation what God hath ſo highly honoured:Leo. Ser. in nat. Dom. Agnoſce O Chriſtiane dignitatem tuam (ſaith Leo) Great was the honour God put upon man at his Creation in making him after his owne Image, Gen. 1.26. But a far greater honour was done to him in his Redemption, God himſelf becomming man; fleſh of our fleſh, bone of our bone: Some love their fleſh, ſaith one, for the beauty of it; ſome for the ſhape and proportion; ſome for ſtrength: But here is the gr…und of true love, to love it becauſe in Chriſt it is the fleſh of God, and herein exalted above the nature of Angels, Heb. 2.16.
Vſe 2 Secondly, for Comfort: This may be a cordiall for all perplexed ſpirits in their approach to the throne of grace. Two cannot walke together except they be agreed, Amos 3.3. but being once agreed it may well be: mans nature through ſin was as hatefull to God as any …oad or Serpent can be to us; but by Chriſt it is brought again into Grace and favour. You know if a Prince will be but pleaſed to come and abide in ſome Town or great mans Pallace, it is enough to bring it into favour, although formerly it hath bin in great diſgrace: So here the divine Nature reſting in the humane hath advanced it highly, ſo that now our own fleſh ſits at Gods right hand; which may ſtrengthen our Faith in all our ſuits to God.